By: Sarah Hagy

Since 2008, Jessica Watson has been the Artwalk Coordinator for the Lane Arts Council.  Jessica graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Business Administration and Art History.  Now, she strives to incite community involvement and bolster the arts on the First Friday of every month in Eugene.

 

What is the mission of the Lane Arts Council?

The mission is to strengthen the arts throughout Lane County…  One of the ways is the First Friday Artwalk…  It’s a great event because everybody gets to go downtown… The area really comes alive, more so than any other night.

When did the First Friday Artwalk start?

The Artwalks have been around since the 1980s.  Fred Crafts started the Artwalks to engage the community in the arts.  Sometimes galleries can seem intimidating…  You walk in and they have great art on the walls, but you don’t know… anything about it.  [Crafts] started the Artwalks, I think, more as a community education and it’s great for that, but it’s also part of the downtown revitalization.

What is the YouthArts program?

We hear all the time that the arts are getting cut in schools… The Lane Arts Council hires artists and then puts [them] into the school system and they teach their craft.  Kids are really getting the best of the best…  It’s a great way that the Lane Arts Council is helping nurture arts in the schools.

What is the value of Arts Education?

I think it’s important for self-expression.  A lot of kids, if they just had something to focus on like that would be a lot better off…  It’s something to do, it’s something to put your mind into and it’s something that does change you.

What future plans do you have for the First Friday Artwalk?

We have a lot in store this year for the Artwalk.  Because we have gained so much momentum over the years, we’ve realized that there’s a lot more we can do.  Last year we started the University of Oregon Artwalk and it went really well.  We’re going to have that again…  We want to bring the public art tour back, but do more of the permanent installations that are fixtures of downtown.  Then Liora [Sponko] has this fantasy about doing the ‘Art Bike’ which is going to be a mural tour around the city… So we’ll see how that goes.

Do you have any future plans?

I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do; I definitely see planning in my future.  The Artwalk really fits in great and I plan on doing it until I am out of ideas!

Anything else?

First Fridays are year around, rain or shine, come!

 

 

 

 

Note: This interview has been edited and condensed to meet project requirements.